Roads to Madness: A Survival/Psychological Horror Game (Rated M for Mature)

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Allison hadn’t at all been expecting someone would actually get electrocuted. It had sounded like a joke – a threatening one, but a joke none-the-less. You couldn’t just electrocute a person. That was absurd.

But the game master did, zapping Mandy when she refused to write her true fears. She rocked back and forth, yelling, and Allison was frightened. Seeing someone get electrocuted in front of her was terrifying, and made her glad she’d written down the truth.

And then Mandy was zapped again, before she finally wrote down what were presumably her true fears and not some lies.

Allison nearly screamed. In the space of two minutes, someone had been zapped twice. That was just insane. Who would do that to a person? They had their rights as human beings! This person was mad, seemingly out for them. Completely and utterly crazy.

The straps binding her to her chair retracted, allowing her to move again. She jumped up, wanting to get out, only to see that the door was bolted shut. When had that happened? No-one else had come near to this room, surely. Unless this room was wired up in some way to automatically shut the door.

She clenched her fists and sat down again. When she’d gotten the letter, she’d assumed it was like one of those shows where you answered questions, got points and if you had the most you won. A game show. Not the plaything of a crazy maniac willing to harm the competitors because they didn't comply with absurd rules.

The dark voice in her mind told her it was her fault. If she’d tried harder, she could have gotten into the college she wanted, and wouldn’t have needed the money as badly as she did. She couldn’t shake that one, the dark lie that sounded so true.

Now Allison understood the limits. At least, she hoped she did. She didn’t want to suddenly have a bombshell of worse pain dropped.

She hesitated for a moment. They were competing against each other, they shouldn’t help each other. But her want to help wouldn’t be contained.

Benedict practically leapt out of his chair when the bindings were released. He glanced at the other contestants in the room, and then to the door which was now bolted shut. There was no way out, no possible way to exit the room. He glanced over at Jordon, who had now gotten up from the chair.

“You alright?” Jordon asked.

“Yeah... it was just... awful seeing that girl over there get shocked though..” Replied Benedict in his british accent. “Whoever we’re dealing with is certainly... different..” Said Benedict, not wanting to upset their host. Jordon nodded in agreement and looked at everyone else in the room. Both Benedict and Jordon knew that it was a competition, and in the end all they would have is each other.

“Sorry,” murmured Jordon under his breath. “I never should have brought us here.” He continued, looking down slightly at Benedict’s freckled face. Benedict shook his head.

“Not your fault, all we have to do is stay alive right? I’m sure if we work together we could do that pretty well.” Replied Benedict with an attempted cheery grin. Jordon could see right through it though, at the underlying fear in Benedict’s tone and eyes.

Jordon looked away from Benedict for a couple seconds, watching another one of the girls... Allison, check on Mandy. Good, she probably needed the help right now. His eyes scanned the room, looking for their next possible move. He glanced over at the other guy in the room, he seemed the most like a leader.

Jordon looked back down at Benedict, watching the smaller man shudder a little as thoughts of the day came back to him.

“Beds are sounding rather promising... don’t you say?” Asked Benedict to Jordon, Jordon responded with a grin and nodded. At least Benedict knew how to make light of the situation.

Having to write his fears on a piece of paper was still on his mind however, why did the gamemaster want to know this? Knowing what the first challenge was... Jordon really didn’t want to find out. He looked at Benedict again, those big sea-green eyes looked back at him. Benedict was actually probably the least likely candidate for this game. Even though they had a slight advantage over Mandy, who had already been punished. Jordon doubted Benedict would be strong enough for some of the challenges ahead. He sighed, at least they had each other.

He would protect him, obviously, it was his duty. He wouldn’t let anything harm Benedict.

The few seconds Mandy had to wait felt like an eternity. Finally, it seemed she was safe, the chair’s bands released the challengers. They weren’t even being forced to ’play’ another round.

Mandy wasted no time in running for the foyer door. The others had run for the door too, but they found it had been bolted shut. Mandy swore softly. She was afraid that was going to be the case.

Allison turned from inspecting the door, “Are you OK?”

“Yeah, I think so,” grumbled Mandy, “It hurt, but electricity can be painful long before it causes any real damage.”

She could hear Benedict and Jordan talking a short ways always. Again with the sleeping arrangements? ****, they were going to be lucky is any of the challengers managed to get some sleep.

(Warning: insane monolog ahead)

She looked up at the door, musing darkly, “This isn’t a game, is it? There’s a real sick ******* in here, and he’s locked us in here with him.” She reached out to touch the door. It was real, it was really locked too, “We’re going to have to have a plan if we want to survive. You guys do want to survive? I know I’m not the one to give advice just now, but if you think this ******* is going to let the last person standing just walk right out of here, well, then you’re insane. We have to escape, we need a plan… but we can’t discuss it in the open either… We need…”

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

Dexter saw that Mandy went off to mumble as she approached the door. Benedict and Jordon were sticking close to one another. Allison was checking on Mandy. Dexter was taking deep breaths to think. He then saw somethign fly at him.

"Augh!"

Dexter yelped as he felt something cut his cheek and clanged loudly on the door. It was a metallic gold-colored discus, the radius of about three feet.

Dexter Glass took a glancing cut!
- 3 Vitality Points

He picked it up and looked at it. He saw there was writing.
"Welcome guests. I warned you, didn't I? Well, time to explain. You will be divided into three teams of two. Team Crimson, Team Gold and Team Azure. On the top of the stairs, there are bracelets for you and your partner. You will compete to find either the Ruby Key, the Topaz Key or the Sapphire Key. Find it and unlock the Platinum Lock behind the portrait of the main staircase.

1st place will recieve the million dollars and the expenses paid for any damages.

2nd place will be getting expenses to paid to recover.

3rd... not sure. I expected two of your to either die or go mad.

The teams assigned are:

Team Crimson- Benedict and Jordon
Team Gold- Dexter and Mandy
Team Azure- Allison and Veronica

Have fun!"

Lights were then shown to the main stairs. Where the lft and right meet were three pedestals with two sets of bracelets, looking like realy gems. Dexter got his gold ones and placed them on with a simple clank. He found able to take it on and off easily.

He gave Amanda hers.

"Doesn't seem to be trapped or anything," he reassured her.

Last edited by DVB; 18th January 2013 at 8:55 PM.

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Veronica came staggering into the room holding her head with one hand. For a moment back there the floor felt wobbly like jello but it turned out to be some sick hallucination. She was better now though, she was sure of it. A low groan of discomfort was her only response to entering the room until she saw it. The door. It was closed. And by the people crowded around it she could guess it wasn't going to budge.

She took a step forward to have a look at this locked when a blur of gold whizzed past her, grazing Dexter's face. While it had her shaken up a bit it didn't seem to bother Dexter very much even though it was only an inch or two away from cutting his face open. She cringed at the thought.

They read the note which told them to get into groups. With a frown Veronica listened on. Well, at least she had someone reasonable as her partner. She snatched up the bracelets from their display and proceeded to hand one to Allison. "Looks like its you and me."

Allison was cute, if not awkwardly dressed for a competition, but Veronica was certain they would make a good team.

Something came zipping into the room. It clanked against the door and fell to the floor. Dexter picked it up, it was a golden discus. His cheek was cut.

More instructions. Damn deranged lunatic. Teams, find a key. She was paired with Dexter, hoodie boy. He went up stairs and got the bracelets they were supposed to wear for this challenge off the pedestal.

He gave Mandy her bracelet, they were the gold team. These bracelets sparkled like real gold, maybe even more. He tried to reassure her, "Doesn't seem to be trapped or anything,"

He just had to test it. Probably they were tracking bracelets. Mandy thought about just slipping hers into her pocket, but the madman in charge of the house probably wouldn’t like that. She’d play along for now. She secured the bracelet around her left wrist.

Their host was like a bad boyfriend, he sounded nice at first, he fed them too, but then he hurt them, afterwards he gave them sparklies to make up for it. Wait sparklies isn’t a word, is it…? Sparklelies? Nope.

“So we’re supposed to find the Topaz Key?” asked Mandy, “Great! Let’s tear this freaking place apart! I could use a little destructive therapy.”

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

The gold flash shot through the air, glancing Dexter on the cheek. He yelped, and Allison took a step back. The challenge master was a complete maniac. Completely and utterly insane. Electrocution was one thing, actually physically hurting someone was another.

The gold thing was a discus. There was writing on it.

Allison raised an eyebrow. Interesting. So if they won, they’d need to divide the million dollars, not get it all to themselves. That was so much false advertising on the challenge master’s part. Maybe that was the point.

Allison was with Veronica, the girl who’d arrived a little late. The group of them went to the top of the stairs, where the bracelets were on three pedestals. Veronica got the two azure bracelets and handed one to Allison. She smiled, but put the bracelet on hesitantly. Maybe it was like the chairs, where it could deliver a shock. Or some way of keeping track of them as they explored – or, in Mandy’s case, destroyed – the mansion in search for the team’s respective keys.

“So we’re looking for the Sapphire Key. I suppose we should start looking. Where do you suggest?”

“So we’re supposed to find the Topaz Key?” asked Mandy, “Great! Let’s tear this freaking place apart! I could use a little destructive therapy.”

Dexter was now even more worried that the electricity was starting to zap Mandy's sense. She seem to be more manic however, so it wasn't like she hit rock bottom in despair.

"Well, we best be careful. I don't think the gamemaster would like that. For all we know, he could smoke this whole place with cyanide," Dexter muttered to her.

Then, something unexpected happened. The area they were all standing was a platform that slowly raised them to an opening on the second floor which then opened. Behind them was the staircase to go down as well as its conenction to the left or right.

In front of them were three long corridors with carpets of red, yellow and blue.

"No surprises there," Dexter said before he grabbed Mandy's hand and proceeded through their corridor. They checked the first room, which was a medium sized cement floor and wall room with a small locker. When Dexter went to check the locker, the door slammed and he was trapped.

"Help!" Dexter said as he saw the locker door had nails in it, nearly cutting him. He saw openings on the back door.

Uh-oh...

In front of Mandy was a poster, explaining the rules.

"Welcome! I heard you were a smarty-pants so let's put that to the test. On the electronic pad in front, answer the following questions. Each one you get wrong...

well, Dexter will get the point."

In front of Mandy on the pedestal was a large touchscreen pad with the first problem.

"What is bee + e?"

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Jordon and Benedict turned as they hear Dexter give a small cry of pain, they then heard a loud clang of metal and looked to the floor to see a golden disk.

Dexter began reading the note aloud.

"Welcome guests. I warned you, didn't I? Well, time to explain. You will be divided into three teams of two. Team Crimson, Team Gold and Team Azure. On the top of the stairs, there are bracelets for you and your partner. You will compete to find either the Ruby Key, the Topaz Key or the Sapphire Key. Find it and unlock the Platinum Lock behind the portrait of the main staircase.

1st place will recieve the million dollars and the expenses paid for any damages.

2nd place will be getting expenses to paid to recover.

3rd... not sure. I expected two of your to either die or go mad.

The teams assigned are:

Team Crimson- Benedict and Jordon
Team Gold- Diego and Mandy
Team Azure- Allison and Veronica

Have fun!"

Jordon sighed in relief, happy that him and Benedict were on the same team. They followed the rest of the group to the main stairway, there he saw three pedestals. Each had two sets of rather nice looking bracelets on them. He was a little worried they might be another trap, but this belief was shattered as he watched Dexter easily slip his on and off.

He handed Benedict his, watching him put it on his wrist. Bracelets were a little odd, Jordon assumed they must have cameras or trackers in them. Otherwise it didn’t really make much sense to have them.

Meanwhile, Benedict’s brain was buzzing, trying to remember what he had been taught in a few of his high school psychology classes. He was having great difficulty, and eventually just gave up, denouncing the host as utterly crazy in his head.

“So I guess we’re finding the Ruby key?” Piped up Benedict to Jordon, who responded with a brief nod as he clicked the bracelet on his wrist. Benedict jumped slightly as the floor they were standing on began to rise, once they hit the top they were greeted with three corridors. Each had a colour matching the team colours.

Jordon gripped Benedict’s hand and lead him down the red corridor, wondering what they could possibly find.

"Well, we best be careful. I don't think the game master would like that. For all we know, he could smoke this whole place with cyanide," replied Dexter. Noted. But what fun would that be for the game master?

The floor suddenly lifted up and carried them to the next floor where color coded corridors awaited them. Dexter seemed calm, "No surprises there.”

He lead Mandy to the first room. A simple cement barracks with only a locker. Like he’d forgotten this place was full of danger, Dexter stepped inside to inspect it. The door snapped shut and he called out, "Help!"

Mandy resisted facepalming as a poster dropped down before her with instructions on saving Dexter. And a pedestal rose up in front of her, with an touch pad on it. She pursed her lips and stared at the first question for a moment.

"What is bee + e?"

This was serious. If she got this wrong Dexter got hurt.

“b-e-e-e, that doesn’t make sense. Does it have to?” she muttered, “It could be numbers. If b is 2 and e is five,” she counted on her fingers, “then the answer is 260, which is b-f-… oh, what would be zero? That doesn’t work. But if a is zero, and b is 1, then we have 144, and the answer is 148, which is b-e-i! But what if that’s not what the psychopath is looking for? Maybe that’s over complicating it?”

Dexter deserved a say in this. After all, it was his body in danger. Mandy stepped to one side so she could see him instead of the poster. She took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly to him. As long as she didn’t type anything, he wasn’t in immediate danger, but he was still trapped. “Dexter, the question is b-e-e plus e. I can answer this in more than one way. Occam’s Razor suggest the answer is b-e-e-e or 260, however beee isn’t a word, and 260 can’t be represented in b-2 form. But if b is 1, then the answer becomes b-e-i. It’s your *** on the line, so, I figure you should have some say in what answer I give.”

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

Dexter did not like this locker. It was dark. Not normal dark, but advanced darkness and it was bothering him. Minutes seem to drag on as he was in the confined dark space, trying to be perfectly still.

Dexter Glass is freaked out
- 3 Psyche Points

“Dexter, the question is b-e-e plus e. I can answer this in more than one way. Occam’s Razor suggest the answer is b-e-e-e or 260, however beee isn’t a word, and 260 can’t be represented in b-2 form. But if b is 1, then the answer becomes b-e-i. It’s your *** on the line, so, I figure you should have some say in what answer I give," Mandy asked.

"I think its-" Dexter began saying before he yelled in pain. A spike came and pierced him. Not in anything fatal and it was small, but still pretty painful.

Dexter Glass is stabbed
- 7 Vitality Points

Suddenly, a voice or rather several voices, all professionally disguised began talking.

You're supposed to be smart and yet because you're so dumb, your partner got hurt! a voice that reminded Mandy of someone close said.

The cacophony of voices continued. Normally, they wouldn't freak Mandy out this much, but the hallogenics began kicking through her body and began increasing in strength.

Suddenly, all the voices became those of her closest people, taunting and tormenting her.

Dexter was still breathing, his sounds of pain still audible to her.

Mandy is suffering doubt and failure!
- 10 Psyche Points

Mandy gained the Condition: WorrywartWorrying about what people think of you and everyone who got hurt because of you.-2 Psyche Point every post (5 posts)

Meanwhile: with Benedict and Jordon

The first door in the red corridor they encountered was filled with two chairs. On each, it stated.

"Face your fears! All wall with your fears will come at you! You can press a button to make it stop and will make other go faster! Solve the riddle of this and get a hint" the notes read.

Meanwhile: with Allison and Veronica

The first door in the blue corridor they encountered had two statues in it. Besides that, there was a huge container of water in it with handles hanging with towels. There was also a dentist chair and a plain chair. There was also what seemed to be a... green key?

It was a glass-box with an ornate plate that said something. Wonder what it was

Last edited by DVB; 18th January 2013 at 10:18 PM.

If you have attempted Alchemy by clapping your hands or by drawing an array, copy and paste this in your sig.
Platinum Friend Code: 0775-1254-2777

Benedict and Jordon continued down the hall with the red carpet, both slightly concerned as to what was happening. Benedict was quietly humming Release by Pearl Jam, trying to keep his mind off the dire situation in front of him. He knew that there was probably going to be some horrific sort of challenge down one of the doors, and was trying to remain as optimistic as possible.

They approached one of the first doors, Jordon leading the way. It was a pretty barren room, empty save for two chairs with notes on them. Benedict approached one of the chairs and looked down at it. Jordon looked at him, scared the floor was going to give out, or the roof was going to fall on him. Benedict began reading aloud;

"Face your fears! All wall with your fears will come at you! You can press a button to make it stop and will make the other go faster! Solve the riddle of this and get a hint" the notes read.

“Our fears come at us?” Benedict asked when he finished reading, he inspected the chair. He knew that there was probably going to be some sort of trick or trap to this chair, to keep them in it once they sat down.

“What do you think would happen if we refused?” Asked Jordon quietly, looking towards the chair. He hadn’t expressed any of his fears to Benedict, but, he didn’t exactly know Benedict’s either. Benedict shook his head.

“i’d hate to find out.. We would probably end up like that poor girl,” replied Benedict, looking a little frightened at the memory. “I think the only thing we can do is sit.” He continued. Jordon nodded slowly, taking a seat in the right chair, while Benedict placed himself in the right chair. Looking up at the wall.

Jordon suddenly realized why the psychopath had wanted their fears, he felt like such a moron. He shook his head quietly and looked at the floor.

Dexter started to answer, but then screamed out in pain. A horrible mix of voices invaded the room, scolding Mandy. What? Why? The poster didn’t say asking him was against the rules, and now the damn psychopath had stabbed him.

Dexter whined in pain.

Mandy cover her ears and shook her head. She struggled to reach the pedestal, she had to get him out of there. But what if he got hurt again? She screamed to him trying to be heard over the insane disembodied voices, “Dexter I’m sorry!”

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

The area the six of them were standing on rose, rising to the second floor. Corridors stretched away, with carpets of red, yellow and blue respectively. The Red and Yellow groups went on their way, exploring the first rooms. Allison bit her lip and gestured for Veronica to follow her into the blue corridor.

The first door led into a room with a bizarre assortment of items – two statues, a huge container of water with towels, two chairs, what looked like a green key and a glass box with an ornate panel on it.

“What is all this?” Allison asked.

The container of water worried her. It seemed a bit smaller closer up, and the chairs – one of which was a dentist one – didn’t seem all that innocent either. What on earth could this challenge master be trying to do?

She walked up to the glass box and examined the panel. What did it say?

Dexter did not move from his position. He remained still when he stopped screaming. Dexter then awaited for whether the answer was wrong or not. He and Mandy waited.

BUZZ! The answer was BF0!

The pad said before Dexter got impaled. However, Dexter was pretty lucky. It was the same spike, so it did little damage since the wound was already there. Dexter spit on his hand and rubbed it on the wound to disinfect it.

Mandy is suffering guilt, shame and confusion!
- 5 Psyche Points

Mandy is suffering from Condition: WorrywartWorrying about what people think of you and everyone who got hurt because of you.
-2 Psyche Point every post (4 posts)

"Augh, am all right," Dexter tried to reassure Mandy. He was not liking this. This wasn't good. He took a breath to calm down.

Now for more math fun!

x * 0 = ∞

Solve and show your work!

Meanwhile: with Benedict and Jordon

Once the two were in their chairs, they saw walls heading toward them. One had needles and the other had knives, each for the fears. They could stop their fear and endanger the other.

Answer is kinda obvious when you thought about it, but can they when they are in peril.

Meanwhile: with Allison and Veronica

As Allison got closer, she could read the small font on the large plate.

WELCOME TO ALL OR NOTHING!
Here you must solve this all important riddle. You will have three hints.

qruq krciym yxur

-1 hsabta
-2 sdrawkcab
-3 nairaseac

Unscramble the phrase and you get the Emerald Key, ensuring the safety of everyone. Fail and you suffer.

One guess.

Under the tablet was rectangular opening. On the side of the coulmns was a dispenser of letter tiles.

SEE IF YOU CAN UNLOCK THE SECRET ENDING

Last edited by DVB; 19th January 2013 at 7:41 AM.

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Platinum Friend Code: 0775-1254-2777

There was aloud buzz and Dexter was stabbed again. He tried to reassure Mandy that he was okay, "Augh, am all right," but she could still hear the pained noises he was making. What had she done? No, even if she did nothing the psychopath would probably still stab him. Still she had typed it in, “I’m sorry.”

A new problem appeared on the screen:
Now for more math fun!
x * 0 = ∞
Solve and show your work!

“What?” cried Mandy, “No, no, no… How can that even work? Zero times anything is zero, then zero is infinity… but infinity to large to be counted… and zero is too small. It’s not possible… it’s not. It’s not possible. This isn’t fair.” A crazed tone broke though her cries, “Maybe it’s another trick. Yes, that’s it, it’s another trick! Zero times zero is the same as zero-zero.”

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

Dexter was listening to Mandy's insane ramblings and got scared for a bit. She was obviously starting to go nuts. However, he did see her logic. Whether that was good or bad he was about to see.

There was omnious silent before Dexter fell out of the locker.

"Congrats!" The voice said. "You win! That was quite clever of you! I never would have thought of that! Looks like you're becoming as mad as me!" it said. Dexter's face paled.

Dexter is suffering from concern!
- 5 Psyche Points

Mandy is suffering from shame by approval!
- 5 Psyche Points

Mandy is suffering from Condition: WorrywartWorrying about what people think of you and everyone who got hurt because of you.-2 Psyche Point every post (3 posts)

Dexter took Mandy and went to the next room to find... two small beds. On the card it saidm, "Your room for th night," Dexter read before getting the first aid kit and applying it. On Mandy's bed, there was a giftbox.

He raises his eyebrow before applying the disinfectant and bandages to his wound.

Sercurity Blankey!
Something to hold onto when you need warmth and or feel secure. You must have a few problemsif you're using this and you are over 13...Accessible to those only with <50 Psyche Points

It was her favorite color, burgandy!

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Benedict and Jordon watched as the walls began to contort, the wall adjacent to Benedict becoming covered in knives and the wall adjacent to Jordon being covered in needles. Benedict immediately steeled himself so that he wouldn’t press the button and endanger Jordon. His fear of knives had started his first year in college, he was currently in his third year. His fear of knives had sprouted during a Biology class, when one of the girls in his class had slipped and impaled herself on her serrated knife. She had lived, after a bit of treatment, but Benedict never really got the image out of his head.

Jordon on the other hand, his fear of needles had sprouted from a much more sinister sort of story. Jordon and Benedict had both been on drugs in high school. Benedict only dabbling in marijuana, but Jordon, Jordon delve on anything he could get his hands on. He once had a rather... unlucky incident with a syringe, and was rushed into emerg. Benedict stayed with him in the hospital room, never leaving his side. Some mornings he’d wake up in the bed with Benedict’s head on his chest, sleeping. Of course, him and Benedict have been clean since their Grade 12 year; but Jordon never really got over his fear of needles; mostly because of how terrible he had made Benedict feel.

Jordon gripped the sides of the chair, there was a riddle to this, but what could it be? He wasn’t going to touch that button until Benedict came up with some sort of solution for the trouble they were in. He looked beside him, Benedict’s knuckles were turning white from gripping the chair so hard, his eyes were shut. Trying not to focus on the sharp pointed objects heading towards him, and he was trapped in his thoughts.

“Jordon!” He suddenly shouted, Jordon could hear the shake in his tone. “We need to press the buttons simultaneously!” He declared, looking slightly beside him at Jordon.

“What? How do we go about that?!” Exclaimed Jordon.

“I’ll count down from 3, are you ready?” Asked Benedict, Jordon nodded.

“Three,

Two

One!”

The two pressed their buttons at the same time, praying the walls would stop from coming any closer to them.

WELCOME TO ALL OR NOTHING!
Here you must solve this all important riddle. You will have three hints.

qruq krciym yxur

-1 hsabta
-2 sdrawkcab
-3 nairaseac

Unscramble the phrase and you get the Emerald Key, ensuring the safety of everyone. Fail and you suffer.

One guess.

Inwardly, Allison cursed. Thinking puzzles had never been her strong suit. She’d never been the brightest, and now it was coming back to bite her. She and Veronica only had one shot to solve the puzzle, or they’d all suffer. And seeing how the madman had held to his/her threats so far, she didn’t doubt that he/she would make them suffer hard.

She looked at the words. Unscramble them all?

The most simple way was to think backward, right? She didn’t know.
The phrase read ruxy myicrk qurq. That didn’t mean anything.
The first one read atbash. That didn’t mean anything to Allison. Another bunch of gibberish to deal with.
The second one read backwards. That meant she was on the right track? Great. Maybe she was actually worth something in this stupid bunch of puzzles.
The last one read caesarian. She wasn’t sure what that meant. Maybe Veronica would know.

“Hey, Veronica!” Allison called. “We have to figure out some silly unscrambling puzzle.” She moved aside slightly so her partner could also read the panel.

“So I tried to read them backwards, and they didn’t really make any sense. I don’t really understand this puzzle, but I bet we can figure it out together!” She beamed, trying to make light of how bad she felt. She was so dumb. Stupid stupid. Couldn’t unscramble some simple words.

Veronica followed Allison into the blue corridor cautiously, the whole while expecting something to fly out at them like the gold disc from before. Somehow seeing the room at the end didn't help settle those fears. The hanging towels implied that they might have to get into that tank of water for something and she certainly did not want to find out what the dentist chair was for. Allison, whether less cautious or far braver than her, moved first to the glass box to read its inscription.

Veronica's eyes frantically searched the room as she slowly made her way over to Allison who by then had already read the plate and taken a crack at solving it.

“Hey, Veronica!” Allison called. “We have to figure out some silly unscrambling puzzle.” She moved aside slightly so her partner could also read the panel.

“So I tried to read them backwards, and they didn’t really make any sense. I don’t really understand this puzzle, but I bet we can figure it out together!”

All at once Veronica's face lit up as the gears churned away in her head. "Ooooh, no, no, no, no, no!" she repeated "I know this one!" She stared at the plate while snapping her fingers repeatedly to try and recall what it was.

"Ok, um..." Veronica started, now chewing on a finger nervously instead of snapping. "Atbash is a cipher and so is caesarian. I think Atbash is the alphabet backwards and caesarian is the alphabet shifted forward by, like, 3 or 4 letters. Or, well, maybe I have those two mixed up. I dunno, a show I used to watch as a kid snuck secret messages in with these and I loved figuring them out!" With new found confidence she pointed to the first jumbled line of the inscription. "So the first hint tells us to decipher it with Atbash, the second hint says that all of this is backwards, and the third hint tells us to decipher it with Caesarian."

Beaming with pride in her own work Veronica looked to Allison before her expression fell. "So..." she said as she began to look around the room again. "You see any paper around here? Cause this is going to be a b**** to translate without something to write it down on."

"Congrats! You win! That was quite clever of you! I never would have thought of that! Looks like you're becoming as mad as me!" announced a condescending disembodied voice. Mandy felt something inside her die. She’d figured out the madman’s logic, which meant she was going mad herself. Well, as long as she knew, it wasn’t too late. At least that’s what she’d heard… to thought she’d heard, she could just be mad.

Dexter raced her into the next room. There were two beds, each topped with a gift box and a note, ‘Your room for the night.’

Dexter opened his box and started putting on the bandages that were within. Mandy shuttered, “Are you really going to use those? What if they’re poisoned or something? The psycho that owns this house would have no problem poisoning you. Then again, maybe he wants you to heal, that way he can hurt you longer.”

She turned to her box and cautiously flipped the lid. Inside was a small wooly blanket, burgundy in color. Mandy picked it up with her index finger and thumb, as though it were something extremely dirty. It felt soft, innocent, between her fingers. She looked it over, it seemed harmless enough. She sniffed it, it didn’t smell like it had been laced with chemicals. Still, better safe than sorry. She tossed it aside then knocked the gift box off her bed.

Speaking of better safe than sorry, better not sleep in that bed, it might be rigged the way the chairs were. She yanked the comforter off the bed and curled up on the floor. She looked up at Dexter, “You think we should sleep in shifts? What if the psycho comes for us in the night? Maybe one of us should stay awake?” She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, “Do you think we’re going to die here? I don’t want to die here. I hope you don’t die here. I’m sorry you got hurt… I should have known the answer. Do you think I should have known the answer?” She yawned staring at the door, “Do you like pizza? Maybe we can get some pizza together if we don’t die here. If you like pizza that is. I like pizza.”

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

"I don't think so. They work fine for me. I guess he may cruel, but a bit fair," Dexter muttered, shrugging his shoulders.

Dexter saw her go to the floor and curl up. “You think we should sleep in shifts? What if the psycho comes for us in the night? Maybe one of us should stay awake?” She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, “Do you think we’re going to die here? I don’t want to die here. I hope you don’t die here. I’m sorry you got hurt… I should have known the answer. Do you think I should have known the answer?”

"Don't worry. Everything will be all right," Dexter says to her as he goes down and lies beside her, grabbing his own comforter.

She yawned staring at the door, “Do you like pizza? Maybe we can get some pizza together if we don’t die here. If you like pizza that is. I like pizza.”

"Everything will be all right," Dex told her as they both began resting. He waited for her to say anything before he fell asleep.

Dexter is getting much needed rest
+ 10 Psyche Points

Mandy is getting much needed rest
+ 10 Psyche Points

Mandy recieved affectionate comforting
+ 5 Psyche Points*

Mandy was cured of the following effect:
-Worrywart

====================================

Meanwhile: with Benedict and Jordon

The walls of knives and needles stopped.

They then rushed at them. It looked like they were going to die. Must have been pretty frightenining.

They then stopped before impaling them.

They pulled back as the chairs let them go.

They survived, but they were shaken up pretty bad.

Benedict suffered from panic!
- 15 Psyche Points

Jordon suffered from panic!
- 15 Psyche Points

=====================================

Meanwhile: with Veronica and Allison

On the left side of the wall was a lawyer pad with a pencil case, hanging from the wall. Also, they noticed there was a confirm button under where the tiles were. So they could keep going until they got something sensible.

Meanwhile, they felt like they were being watched...

If you have attempted Alchemy by clapping your hands or by drawing an array, copy and paste this in your sig.
Platinum Friend Code: 0775-1254-2777

Mandy felt better as Dexter reassured her that everything would be alright. It was nice to hear him say that even if it wasn’t true. He was nice. Even if he didn’t like pizza.

She yawned again a muttered to herself about things only Cthulhu could understand. She was very tired, and the comforter was very warm, so despite not being in a real bed drifted off to sleep.

Her dreams, well, still being under the influence of hallucinogens and horror, were somewhat unpleasant. Knives, pizzas, bloody nails, something in the corner watching them. She tossed and turned a bit, and mumbled a few things in her sleep, but was still getting some much needed sleep.

“Once, or twice, in a lifetime, if you're lucky, there are moments. Someone slices the world open,
right down the middle and you can see the sky behind it. The true world. And you understand your purpose.”
(Frances Booth - Channel Zero; Candle Cove)

As soon as Allison had finished, Veronica seemed to take off. She had much more knowledge of codes than Allison did. Apparently the first and last inscriptions were two different ciphers, where the alphabet was reversed or moved forward.

Allison was glad she was partnered with someone who knew these sorts of things. Otherwise, she’d have undoubtedly just collapsed on the floor without a word with no hope of solving it. She’d never heard of atbash or caesarian ciphers, and would’ve have been stuck for ages on the puzzle.

She looked around. Surely the challenge master wouldn’t be so cruel as to make them work this out with only brain power. That would be a bit too much, though he had electrocuted someone twice, hit someone in the face with a golden discus and who knows what else. This person was mad. She couldn’t put anything past her/him.

“Here we go!” she beamed, noticing the lawyer pad and pencil case on the left side of the wall. Taking them, she hurried over and held them out for Veronica.

She looked around the room again. She felt nervous. The hairs on the back of her neck stood upright, as though she was being watched. She hated that. It was as though the invisible eyes were judging her, telling her she wasn’t qualified, that she was unfit for this challenge.

She shook it off. She needed confidence now. She needed to focus. Focus as hard as she could so that she and Veronica could solve this puzzle and possibly stop anyone else from getting hurt.

She noticed the confirm button under where some tiles were, tiles that they’d have to use to answer, she guessed. At least the challenge master had some niceness, to allow them to check and make sure they hadn’t arranged the tiles incorrectly before entering their answer. The single answer.

Jordon could tell Benedict was already on the verge of tears, luckily it seemed the walls had stopped from coming and it looked like they were going to be okay. But... the chairs hadn’t released them from their bindings yet, was this some sort of elaborate trick? He watched the walls, they still showed no sign of movement.

Benedict shook in his chair. Why weren’t the bindings being released? He wasn’t prepared to die if this was going to be the end, there was so much he still wanted to expirience in life. Marriage, Parenthood, Having a Job, ect. He wasn’t ready for death yet! He was only nineteen for godsake! There was so much he could still do!

Suddenly, Jordon’s head shot up, hearing a brief clicking noise. This was followed by the walls shooting towards them. Benedict let out a cry of shock and agony, Jordon just shut his eyes and prepared for the impact.

…

Jordon opened his eyes slowly, seeing the walls had stopped just before impaling them. He could see Benedict was shaking with tears streaming down his face, probably imagining the pain if thousands of knives had pierced his whole body.

“Ben, Ben. We’re alright...” He murmured, hearing the shake in his own voice as he spoke. Benedict slowly opened his eyes, feeling the binds release both him and Jordon from their seats. The walls slowly began retracting around them.

Benedict rose from the chair... only to slump down to the floor in a messed up head. His body was pretty much in the fetal position, his face planted firmly against the ground as muffled sobs emitted themselves from his small, shaking body.

Jordon slowly slumped to the floor, wrapping his arms around Benedict and moving close to him. Just whispering the words ‘It’s okay, I love you.’ over and over again.